1. 2012 BILC Professional Seminar
Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center
Thank you, Rick and Julie, for the opportunity to present at the BILC Seminar. Last year I made a presentation of this topic. Since then we have continued to use this approach. It is catching on as faculty and students satisfy the need to communicate without the need to meet face to face for assistance and additional contact that would have to take place outside the normal duty day and away from the normal work station.
2012 BILC Professional Seminar
Creating Communities of Practice
Donald Fischer, PhD
Provost, DLIFLC

2. Overview Concepts Introduction Content
Group Cognition Project/Technology Integration
Arabic Reading Working Group (ARWG)
eSessions
Concepts
Community of Practice (CoP)
Appreciative Inquiry
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL)
We are discussing the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center’s (DLIFLC’s) initiatives involving Group Cognition and Technology Integration, the Arabic Reading Working Group (ARWG) project, and eSessions. These projects have the goal of assisting in management of change and promoting learning effectiveness using technological and pedagogical approaches to help our students reach high levels of language proficiency.
Constantly exploring ways to enhance its teacher education program, DLIFLC initiated the Group Cognition Project to help teachers improve their written and spoken English, and increase familiarity with technology by building Communities of Practice (CoP) and understanding in which participants construct and share knowledge.
The Arabic Reading Work Group, the ARWG (pronounced ARWIG) is organized around the associated concepts of Group Cognition, Communities of Practice, Appreciative Inquiry, and Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL).
The Project is intended to facilitate the identification of best Arabic reading instructional practices by constructing and sharing knowledge through virtual environments which provide a unique opportunity for interaction and communication among participants across DLIFLC, United States and even the world.
To enhance language and culture proficiency, classroom activities like Study Hall and Special Assistance. are conducted in virtual settings. In the eLearning environment, students develop Communities of Practice, enhance learner autonomy, and work collaboratively using the ARWG and Group Cognition frameworks and virtual support structure.

3. Rapid Change & Organizational Learning
Technology is constantly changing
People find varying ways to use it
Learning occurs at different points and different rates
Learning occurs faster than it can be transmitted and turned into practice
How and why do we have to develop ways to keep up?
From all that research tells us and what we learn everyday, we have a major challenge in transmitting our learning throughout the faculty and into the student body. We are big and we are learning faster than we can communicate it. Thus, the idea of communities of practice is a major issue.

4. Possible Technology Application
Application/System
Used for Teaching
1. VTT/BLTS
21. (Microsoft Office) Word, Excel
41. (Transparent Languages Inc. programs) Rapid Rote
2. Blackboard
22. OneNote
42. Language Pro.
3. DCO
23. Access
43. Talker
4. iPOD
24. Outlook
44. Windows media Player
5. iTouches
25. InfoPath
45. QuickTime
6. SharePoint
26. PowerPoint
46. SMART Notebook
7. BLTS
27. Ulead/Corel VideoStudio
47. Adobe Acrobat Pro
8. Tablet PC
28. Pinnacle TV Center Pro
48. Abby Fine Reader
9. Headstart2
29. Camtasia
49. SPSS
10. Rapport
30. Captivate
50. QuarkXpress
11. GLOSS
31. DLIFLC LSKs
51. CutePDF
12. WTE
32. (Adobe suites)
design and/or web, with Dreamweaver
52. ALELO tactical scenarios (3D games)
13. DLPT Readiness
33. (Adobe suites)
Flash
53. Wenlin
14. Adobe Audition
34. (Adobe suites)
Photoshop
54. CollabWorx
15. Acrobat Reader
35. (Adobe suites)
Illustrator
55. SCOLA
16. SANAKO
36. (Adobe suites)
InDesign
56. IE
17. ScribeZone
37. CamStudio
57. Atomic Learning
18. Jabber Moment IM
38. Skype
58. Firefox
19. iTunes
39. Google Earth
59. iPAD
20. Countries in Perspectives
40. YouTube
60. Other
For example, this slide lists the various hardware and software capabilities available to teachers and students. At the time the slide was made there were more than 60. With the advent of a major Web 2.0 social networking project, we have added 40 more templates for teachers to design technology supported learning activities. All, when incorporated into an appropriate instructional design, will assist in the teaching, learning, and communication processes. What would be a feasible process for making faculty and students and leadership aware of the existence of such extensive resources?

5. Technology Integration and Professional Development Workshops
Using Virtual Environments for Content-Based Problem Solving and Presentation and Speaking Skill Improvement.
Workshops in which faculty members discussed applications of classroom and individual learning support technologies and offered online using the Sakai/ Elluminate Learning Management System (LMS).
Web-based Communities of Practice examining reading methodologies and approaches
Use of Web-based conferencing for student assistance
One answer is the use of Technology Integration and Professional Development Workshops situated in a virtual environment like the one we are using now. One could use telephone making sure that supporting resources such as slides are in the possession of all participants. One could use an environment such as Skype which, I believe, as a professional version that supports group conferencing and resource sharing. Given that peer to peer networks such as Skype give Information Security specialist something close to heart failure, virtual environments inside the military systems can be used. This presentation, given that we are successful in connecting, uses ELLUMINATE, provided by the Naval Post-Graduate School in Monterey, CA. We used that environment for our workshops on technology integration, teaching Arabic reading, and to provide additional study and communication opportunities for faculty and student interaction.

6. Theoretical View
The Group Cognition provides a solid theoretical discipline of socio-cultural constructivism and lays out a well designed framework and structure that exploits important aspects of an e-learning environment, including social presence, meta-cognition, interactive activities, connectivity between learners, e-mentors and facilitators, and content, and learner support. Selected web 2.0 social networking tools support the online environment providing contact activities and resources, situated learning opportunities, and a network to build interactions and relationships.

7. Wisdom Community Model
The concept map above shows the the Wisdom Community (WISCOM) approach to the Group Cognition concept. It is a sequence of dealing with issues in an environment established by a support centers.
The process starts with identifying challenges/problems/issues to be studied. Closely related is the hypothesis that not only individuals, but Groups can think think in a virtual or eLearning environment.
In the second phase of resolving the issue or challenge, individuals do initial exploration. Based on discoveries, individuals engage in a discussion forum such as a community blog or a wiki or threaded discussion to discuss and share their findings. Interactions, relations, activities in various stages of engagement with the environment take place.
In the third phase, resources, mentors, and facilitators help ensure Group accountability and the development of common belief. Leaders and participants develop emotional and common trust. They ensure the development of the social aspects of being members of a learning community. They support appropriate and effective collaborative learning processes and develop community among participants. This process facilitates and enables the development of social capital.
In the fourth element that should be a part of all the processes, members of the group reflect on their works and experience paradigm change via strategic change, distributed cognition, collaboration, and actual transformations of behavior.
In the fifth phase of any project, the group makes transformations based on group community of practice, group creativity, and group innovation. As a result, the Group projects new perspectives for future development. The process and the results we have seen from our forays into it support the hypothesis that Groups can indeed think and create new knowledge.
Support Center represents facilitators, IT communication which provides support and guidance throughout all phases of the collaborative learning project.

8. Project Example-Teaching Modern Standard Arabic AND Dialects
Participants objectives: 
Build an online Community of Practice with respect to teaching reading to dialect students.
Apply various technology tools to increase teaching effectiveness.
Develop a way ahead to teach MSA and necessary reading skills to dialect students.
The question to be dealt with here is how to teach reading the standard form of Arabic while teaching people how to listen and speak (as well as read and write) in dialects such as Iraqi, Levantine, and Egyptian, not to mention Magreb and Sudanese Arabic. The dialects amount to different languages, especially in dealing with everyday life and interactions. We have mixed results, often dependent on the teaching teams and their approaches. Therefore, we needed to listen to a number of voices in developing our approaches to this problem.

9. Elluminate/Sakai
This is a representation of the virtual environment we use. We meet virtually to level the playing field, reduce or eliminate time taken to get to a face-to-face meeting, and to bring teachers into the process who are not located at the main site of DLIFLC. We have two major east coast locations where Arabic is used and it is not feasible to bring instructors to California for repetitive meetings.

10. Arabic Reading Work Group (ARWG)
ARWG Workshop
-Group Cognition + Appreciative Inquiry Approach
-Goal: explore ways to identify, describe, and disseminate the best practices of reading instruction for MSA and Arabic dialect courses.
For this task, we established the Arabic Reading Work Group, pronounced “ARWIG”. We used the organizational principle of providing a virtual environment constructed and supported by Dr. Kueilan Chen who works out of my office and the Appreciative Inquiry Approach facilitated by our evaluation element which looks at strengths and regards weak areas as areas requiring positive input. As discussed in the theoretical view, we look at where people are in terms of views of the issues, establish grounding and respect for those views, and then work to create knowledge and visibility of potential solutions to the issues.

11. Appreciative Inquiry Approach
Themes and Ideal States Derived from the Student, Teacher, Military, and Leadership Working Group Presentations
Summary of Student/ Classroom Instructor/ Leadership/ Military Instructors Collected Data
Best Practice Priorities – Recommended Actions – Responsible Agents
This initiative was organized around the concepts of Group Cognition, Communities of Practice (CoP) and Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to facilitate the identification of best Arabic reading instructional practices through the technology of online/virtual learning communities and computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL). Participants selected for the initiative, referred to as the “Work Group”, were responsible for 1) identifying through guided discussions with students, instructional staff, Military Language Instructors, and school leadership the “ideal” instruction and learning practices necessary for improving Arabic reading proficiency; 2) sharing best practices findings with DLIFLC leadership and their colleagues; and 3) planning a communication strategy and conference agenda to engage all Arabic language programs at DLI in identifying, developing, adopting and measuring best instructional practices.

12. Outcome of ARWG Phase I-III
03/19/12
Outcome of ARWG Phase I-III
Built an online community of practice to address improvement of Arabic reading instruction
Examined best of best practices associated with teaching reading in MSA and Arabic dialects
Identified salient themes and listings of best instructional practices
Designed, implemented, and facilitate school and program “Summits”, seminars, workshops, and presentations to improve reading instruction through best practices
Developed appropriate metrics to determine the effectiveness of the best practices initiative
This slide illustrates outcomes. We shared successes and looked at best practices. We developed a listing of themes and practices that instructors felt contributed most to success. Each of our Arabic schools and our Continuing Education school took on a part of the task to implement and eventually report progress, or lack thereof, in a fourth phase of the project, which is continuing.

13. Interview Findings of Successful Themes
Number of Occurrences
Authentic (materials) 37
Task-Based Instruction (TBI) 27
Autonomous (teaching and learning activities) 22
Collaborative (student/teacher/military)
Integrated (skills/activities) 21
Motivated (student/teacher)
Individualized (tailored) 19
Cultural Practices (context for understanding) 18
Scaffolded (structured skill building)
Engaged (active vs. passive ) 17
Prepared (teacher) 15
Honest/Authentic (teacher)
Interactive (technology) 11
Contextual 9
Connected (technology) 8
Planned
Varied 7
Pedagogy 5
Relaxation
Real (activities)
Broad/Deep 4
Time
Structural
Appropriate (levels)
Production 3
Synthesized
Analytical 2
Applied, contextual
Harmonious
Current, interesting 1
This list shows the ranking of different approaches in terms of faculty perceptions of effectiveness. Use of authentic materials and task-based instruction led the way. I would suggest that the topics apply to more than Arabic and that the above provides a rubric for assessing the probability of success in any learning task. I recommend it to you to discuss with your teachers and your students.

14. Themes and Ideal States from Student, Teacher, Military, and Leadership Working Group Presentations (1/2)
Instructional Theme
The Ideal State
Constituent Group
Curriculum/Materials
Up-to-date authentic materials addressing all learning styles
Effective and purposeful authentic materials with FLO requirements
Student-centered, task-based & can be tailored to individual needs
Class is a microcosm of real life /culture. Military expressions
Textbook, a basic framework for engaging students in learning TL/TC
-Student -Teacher
-Military
-Leadership
Technology
Time saver/ alternative to learning/exploring language
Having ‘tech savvy’ instructors/ Updated equipment and software
Efficient and relevant to learning objectives
“Real life” classroom experience is enhanced thru well-integrated use of technology
Teaching Methods
Tailored to students’ individual needs, learning style, attitude
Plunge Sts into natural habitat of Arabic, meaningful, engaging, and suitable activities/ Student centered/ Motivating/ Task-based/ Contextualized instruction/ Personalized/ Promote collaboration
Invoke the highest order thinking skills possible
Balance teacher expectations with reality/situation/ Provide students an opportunity to review/recap prior lessons
Reading instruction in cultural context/ Utilize interactive discussion
Pre-during-post reading activities with meticulous instructional plans
Autonomous Learning
•Student as a partner in the learning process and accountable to
express needs as well as well prepared
• Allow for creativity and exploration in indentifying content and
different ways “strategies” learning
This and the next slide provide another look at various areas that are involved in the instructional process. This is provided, not to go into details, but to give faculty, professional developers, curriculum developers, and formative assessors areas for review. As we are always working to fit academic and military requirements together, identifying constituent and interest groups is essential. There are always stakeholders, and their interest is not always apparent to each of the groups collectively or to its individual members.

15. Themes and Ideal States from Student, Teacher, Military, and Leadership Working Group Presentations (2/2)
Instructional Theme
The Ideal State
Constituent Group
Autonomous Learning
Students take ownership of reading activities content, task and project instructions/ Project oriented learning activities
Culture
•Present as an exploration of an exotic Middle East – Imbed culture within reading exercises
•Develop knowledge of the world “schemata”
•Explore topics of interest, and cultural background is as important as familiarity with the linguistic code
-Students
-Leadership
Assessment
•Provide assessment that enhances language learning thru In classroom - Peer Assessment - Self Assessment
•Continuous comprehensive checks of reading texts are important and productive in group and pair activities
-Teachers -Leadership
Grammar
•Learn and integrate into context of lessons rather than as a separate session
•Compare and contrast grammatical similarities/differences between MSA and dialects
•Design grammar workshops that can be phased out at higher levels
Student-centered
•Attentive to students needs – motivate – develop rapport – collaborative in teaching and learning
-Teachers
Communication and Collaboration
•One team, one fight – Cohesiveness and harmony – Institute wide sharing - Autonomy – Positive management and faculty relationship
On reviewing this second slide which is additive to the previous slide, it is interesting that the student, military, and institute leadership fell out of communication and collaboration, which indicates all too well the challenge in getting people to look from outside their own viewpoints. It also illustrates how much these issues are affecting the faculty and the need for more communication by the military and civilian leadership with the faculty.

16. ARWG Project via Elluminate / Sakai
This again is a view of the environment with links to recorded sessions so that people can review or make up for missed sessions.

17. Technology Tools
This view shows the elements of the interface. Working counter clockwise from the left, there is a place to show participants to include the ability to raise one’s hand to provide for questions and responses. There is a “chat” capability where one can address the whole group or individuals with text messages. At the lower left is the microphone switch that allows real time speaking and interaction with the group. On the right is the “white board” where slides, pictures, videos, text and handwritten notes can be displayed. Resources from any of the participants can be displayed on the screen and shared. In the far left bottom corner is the indicator that recording is taking place. All audio and visual elements of the conference are recorded.

18. Outcome of Group Projects
Faculty participants
Shared knowledge, gained confidence, enhanced technology proficiency, and promoted their speaking skills thru interaction in group collaborative activities.
Appreciated the opportunity to learn personally and collectively and shared their positive and best practices with their department and school division. (e.g. requested more Group workshop and elected to pursue their advanced studies in the field of FLED. )
A unique opportunity for interaction among faculty leading to increased mutual understanding, collegiality, and professionalism—and a foundation from which to improve our approach to dialects AND MSA.
We have gained knowledge, confidence, better technology proficiency, and presentation skills. The big gain however is the new linkages, particularly between faculty and Provost in understanding why change in practice is necessary and being aware of tools to facilitate that change. For me, seeing faculty finding out that there are easier and more efficient paths to success and watching the adoption of these techniques represents a real personal capstone to a military and academic career.
On that note, this will be my last address to you as Provost as I will be retiring from this position December 31. I have deeply appreciated our associations. I believe that the expansion of the BILC, the opening of communication among all European nations, and the participation of the Russian Federation and our friends from Jordan as something we could not have dreamed of in the late 80s. Thank you for all of the support and great times I have had with you. I am sure we will see each other again, but for me, it will be in a different form. Thank you all.

19. 2012 BILC Professional Seminar
Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center
2012 BILC Professional Seminar
Creating Communities of Practice
Donald Fischer, PhD
Provost, DLIFLC

20. Back-Up Slides

21. Group Cognition Projects
Group Cognition Projects (Dr Garry Stahl’s Group Cognition Model) , Provost Initiatives
Technology Integration and Faculty Development Workshop
Arabic Reading Working Group (ARWG) with Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Approach
E-Sessions: Virtual Environment for Study Hall, Special Assistance, and Speaking Sessions.
Group Cognition Project: With the concept of providing a network, a virtual environment to support sharing, the Provost initiated the Group Cognition project aiming to examine the effectiveness of organization learning via eLearning environment. It is evident that group knowledge is created, shared, organized, revised, and passed on within among Technology Integration and Faculty Development Workshop participants as well as in DLIFLC.
Technology Integration and Faculty Development Workshop as the first group project, it was held during 2 June – 1 September, 2011 via Elluminate/ Sakai LMS. About 60 DLIFLC existing technology elements were examined for language training purposes. The workshop had a group presentation to faculty and school deans at Khalil Hall on 6 October, As a resource, the “knowledge” is managed and documented in written text and media (audio and video clips) formats onsite and offsite. The learning process and outcomes were analyzed and reported.
Arabic Reading Working Group (ARWG): Group Cognition + Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Approach. The outcome of Phase I, II, and III of ARWG was presented in two-half day on 1-2 May. The Phase IV of ARWG focuses on implementation and dissemination to related Schools, ME I, ME II, ME III, and CE. Each school selected three points-of-contact (POCs) and submitted abstracts outlining the implementation plan. The selected POC, original ARWG AI members, and related people meet monthly to update and discuss their progress.
Built an online community of practice to address improvement of Arabic reading instruction.
Applied “Group Cognition” concepts and “Appreciative Inquiry” approach and examined and will disseminate best practices associated with teaching reading in MSA and Arabic dialect.
Summarized the findings of the inquiry to identify the salient themes and listings of the best instructional practices.
Helped design, implement, and facilitate school and program based “Summits”, seminars, workshops, or presentations to take the actions necessary to improve reading instruction through the application of best practices.
Developed appropriate outcomes metrics to determine the effectiveness of the best practices initiative to improve reading proficiency.
As an extension of Group Cognition project and ARWG Project, several teachers found the benefit of the eLearning environment. There are 12 teachers from ME II and ME I who have been using the eLearning environment to teach students for Study Hall, Special Sessions, and speaking classes. These teachers regularly use e-Sessions to teach students with various activities to activate schemata and to learn new vocabulary, expressions, socio-cultural aspects, etc. (including autonomous learning and collaborative learning) using authentic materials guiding students with real world situations. Students and teachers greatly appreciate the eLearning opportunity.